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- The United States government has declared in a controversial solo effort that international sanctions against Iran have become valid again since Sunday.
- Punitive measures were suspended after the 2015 international nuclear agreement. However, the United States withdrew from the agreement in May 2018. It is debatable whether they can reinstate the sanctions.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif spoke of a “propaganda stunt” by the US government ahead of the November presidential elections.
With its decision, the US is also facing a large majority of the UN Security Council. The Council is responsible for reinstating the previous sanctions and does not recognize the arguments presented by the US side. The foreign ministers of Berlin, London and Paris reaffirmed their position this morning. The reinstatement of punitive measures pursued by the Trump administration could “have no legal effect,” the diplomatic chiefs said.
The United States, on the other hand, sees the 30-day deadline to activate the so-called rollback mechanism as expired. According to Washington’s reading, the sanctions went into effect Saturday night at 8 p.m. local time.
The United States would not hesitate to enforce the sanctions, wrote US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Twitter. They expected all UN member states to fulfill their obligations under the reinstated sanctions.
Pompeo named Iran as one of the top state sponsors of terrorism and anti-Semitism. The new sanctions also included a permanent extension of an arms embargo. However, an extension of the UN arms embargo against Iran is also controversial among the permanent members of the Security Council.
Iran is fighting back
For Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Jawad Zarif, the US measure is not valid. Talk about a propaganda stunt before the November presidential election. Iran hopes that the international community will speak with one voice.
The names of the ex-partners are mentioned in the document, but officially and legally the couple no longer have anything to do with each other.
The Iranian diplomatic chief mocked that the UN resolution is similar to a divorce certificate: “The names of the ex-partners are mentioned in the document, but officially and legally the couple no longer have anything to do with each other.”
Iranian traders in Hamburg have to adapt again to US sanctions.
Keystone
What could happen now
It is not clear how the US government will act if most countries do not follow suit. The United States special envoy for Iran and Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, recently announced the steps the United States would take to enforce sanctions against Tehran. This could also include direct action against those countries in the nuclear deal that oppose it – in addition to Russia and China, these include Germany, Britain and France.
